The invention relates to a method of providing a common virtual environment to a plurality of users, at least one user being provided with a local actuator for receiving mechanical input from the user and for outputting mechanical feedback to the user, the method comprising the steps of:
adjusting for the at least one user, in response to the mechanical input, a position of a corresponding user object with respect to the virtual environment comprising tactual environment objects, and
presenting to the at least one user, through the mechanical feedback, tactual cues as originating from the tactual environment objects and from distant user objects. The invention further relates to a terminal for use with such a method.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,152 describes a multiplayer game in which each player is represented by a corresponding icon on a screen. The screen further displays a virtual environment through which each player can virtually move by manipulating a corresponding user actuator. Points can be scored by virtually colliding with other players. In the known method, a central processing unit keeps track of the players"" virtual positions and sends command signals to the players"" actuators in case of particular events such as an icon colliding with another icon or with tactual environment objects in the virtual environment like planets and regions of turbulence. The command signals provoke the relevant user actuator to provide the player with mechanical feedback in conformance with the event, thereby adding realism to the playing of the game.
A disadvantage of the known method is that the virtual environment that is presented has limited attractivity.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method as specified in the preamble, which provides a more interesting tactual virtual environment. To this end, the method according to the invention is characterized by the step of positioning at least one of the tactual environment objects in response to positioning actions by at least one of the users. Besides simple movement of a tactual environment object from one place to another in the virtual environment, positioning also means creation of a tactual environment object into the virtual environment or removal of a tactual environment object from the virtual environment. Thus, the invention enables a user to create, move and remove obstacles that are actually felt by the other users, thereby enabling him to customize the virtual environment to his own wishes and to have a greater influence on the course of events.
An advantage of the measure of claim 2 is that the users can adjust the tactual properties of individual tactual environment objects, thereby providing the users with a still larger hold on the look and feel of the virtual environment.
An advantage of the measure of claim 3 is that the tactual properties of the users themselves are dynamic. In a game environment for example, a user just having taken in food provokes a heavier blow when colliding with an other user, indicating that his strength has increased.
An advantage of the measure of claim 4 is that a user can confront an other user with a tactual environment object that is visually but not tactually hidden from him. Preferably, only the user from which such an invisible object originates is presented with a visual representation of the object. This further enriches the virtual environment.
An advantage of the measure of claim 5 is that more processing can be done locally. Specifically, the tactual feedback resulting from the virtual environment can be initiated locally in contrast with the known method centrally initiating all tactual feedback. In this way, the amount of required communication and central processing is reduced. These demands would otherwise increase to unacceptable levels as a result of the increased hold that users have on the look and feel of the virtual environment as offered by the invention. The library can be part of the application software or be application-independent. In the latter case, the library could be incorporated in the system software of which applications can make use of. In this manner, the library is accessible to a multitude of applications. The library can also be located within the actuator.
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.